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Mother advocates for mental health awareness after son's suicide
Capre Landfair talks about the pain of losing her son, Michael Doss II, and how she's moving forward.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Capre Landfair was on a desperate search to find her son, Michael Doss II, who had been missing for days, when his body was discovered in a garage about a block from his house.
He was found by members of an organized search party on Feb. 24, Fox 2 was with the family at the moment he was discovered.
"What you all saw you needed to see, you needed to see that," Landfair said. "You all needed to see a mother looking for her missing baby. You needed to see the pain and the grief."
Shortly after he was found, the Wayne County Medical Examiner ruled Doss’ death a suicide, he was 25-years-old.
About four years ago, Michael started struggling with his mental health. First depression, then Schizophrenia.
"He felt invisible to the world," Landfair said. "Not to me, not to his dad, not to his auntie. He felt invisible to society."
Landfair said that she wants everyone to know the signs to look for.
"… the lack of response, unwillingness to do anything, the having to pull them out of bed, … not wanting to take medication," she said. "I counted meds, I did everything I could do for my son. I made sure he had therapy, when that therapist wasn’t working, we went to another therapist. There was nothing more I could have done."
Landfair said that mental illness runs in her family, and she’s not afraid to talk about it.
"My father committed suicide when I was 13 years old, so I have experience with suicide," she said.
She wants to talk about it to anyone who will listen to help break the stigma, and get people the help that they need.
"We have to start having these hard conversations," she said. "He’s fine, she’s fine, no you need to react to those things, there needs to be urgency."
Licensed therapist Dr. Sabrina Jackson echoes Landfair’s thoughts.
"When it comes to those things about our emotions and our mental health people keep it silent but anything we keep in the dark will fester, it will grow," she said. "It will not get better. We need to shine a light on it for it to get better."
Landfair said that she has devoted her life to her son, and now she needs to be his voice more than ever.
"Everything that I’ve done my entire life was for Michael … and now since Michael doesn’t have a voice, I have to be his voice. My baby didn’t die in vain. His life meant something."
Landfair said that Doss’ death should help to unite the black community.
"We can’t expect anyone else to save us," she said. "People are suffering. People are hurting. How do we stop the suffering? How do we stop the hurting? I can’t answer that today."
Landfair said finding those answers starts with having uncomfortable conversations.
Funeral information for Doss II is as follows:
Visitation: Monday from 5 to 7 p.m.
Funeral Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Clora Funeral Home, 5801 E. 7 Mile Rd., Detroit
Burial: Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 17100 Van Dyke, Detroit.
To speak with a trained listener, call 988. Visit 988lifeline.org for crisis chat services or for more information.
Michael Doss II / Photo: DPD